A Thorne on the Pitch
by flowerette
Summary: She was enigmatic, competitive and top of almost all her classes. He was easy-going, forgetful and two years behind on his homework. Despite their differences and loyalties to opposing houses, James has had a crush on her for years, but he has only ever really passed her in the corridors. What about now, when she's in all his classes and suddenly besties with his little sister?
1. ready

i  


"Maddox seems to be on the move," James Sirius Potter said into the microphone as he held the magically altered binoculars up to his eyes, "In this terrifyingly electric match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Will the match be coming to an end?"

James shifted his weight and leant closer to the action, "Another inevitable goal by Howell as Slytherin snatch the Quaffle back into their loop of goals. It looks like Crane has the Quaffle now, she's hurtling towards the other end of the pitch but – woah, that bludger came out of nowhere! Only Thorne can be responsible for that one," He stared as Thorne twiddled the beater's bat between glove-clad hands. He could hardly believe his entire family was here. Even Grandma Molly had come out here for this: for the unavoidable win of Gryffindor, yet again.

He turned, smiled and waved at his family: his sister curled up next to their father, and Albus sat uncertain between their parents. They waved back and James returned to his commentating. He would've sold his very soul to get on that team, but in his four years of trying, he hadn't managed to get on the team. Quidditch practically ran in his blood, but he didn't seem to have any of the talent. Lily never even touched a broom and Albus was always studying.

"Thorne and Castells have packed together and formed an unbreakable defence as they swipe around the pitch," He said lazily as Isaac Howell threw the Quaffle through a hoop as Thorne almost broke another with the force of another bludger attack.

"And I think Gryffindor's keeper, Dailly, might need new underwear when he hits the ground after that encounter," The crowd laughed and James was back. He was happy. He was at least entertaining people with his comments. The sun shone down behind him, casting gigantic shadows of the towers and seats over the dewy green hillside. _If they had started the match at eleven, everyone would've boiled alive_, James thought.

"And Maddox has the Snitch in sight! He dives towards it and snatches it up in seconds, I don't think that could've even registered with the Gryffindors. The match is over with a score of 240 to 250, congratulations to the Gryffindors for their victory!"

The Slytherin team hit the ground as though they were one, shook the Gryffindor's hands and walked off the pitch with their heads held high, a trait James had always found slightly strange in seven such prideful people.

* * *

"We're gonna kick their asses next year, whoever's Captain is gonna have to replace like the entire team," Nico Castells, a sixth year who was the second beater to Thorne, said as he pulled his robe over his head.

"I know, oh my God," Tyler, their Keeper said.

"We still on for tonight?" A voice called out from the bathroom.

"Don't talk to us while you shit, White!" Another voice called back.

"I'm agreeing with Alaska, Tim, shut the fucking door, we don't wanna hear that shit."

Alaska laughed and whipped Tyler with her Quidditch robe, "Actually, are we? I mean like half the school is gonna go to Gryffindor's shitty party, why don't we just fuck off to Hogsmeade and plan their demise next year?"

"Looks like somebody's already picking up the Slytherin way of life," Joe Maddox, the Captain and Seeker of the team said as he squeezed Alaska's shoulder.

"Please, I picked it up years ago. A side-effect of being around you shitheads for too long."

"Rude!" Tyler laughed as she snapped her robe at him again.

"You need new gloves, Merlin's fucking nappy."

"You swear too much," Nico called out.

"On the contrary. I swear a perfectly normal amount, especially since I have to spend like eight hours a day with you lot."

* * *

James smiled at his classmates as they patted him on the back for his commentating efforts. He dared a slight glance over to the Slytherin table, where the team all sat, their heads crowded together over one person: the familiar sun-gilded head of Alaska Thorne. James had had a crush on Alaska for as long as he could remember, ever since he had seen her at Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley. She was the kind of girl everyone wanted to know more about but everybody seemed to think that they knew. Even James' parents had expressed an interest in her when they had first seen her, which was when they were collecting him from the station at the end of his first year.

Her hair shone like a star in the candlelight as she turned and waved at Ethan Wood, her opposing number in the match. She waved at him and winked as her boyfriend, Ben Davis, looked on with flushed cheeks.

James' heart lurched as he remembered the holidays were starting soon, and that meant not seeing Alaska for an excruciatingly long eight weeks.

* * *

"Hey, you got anything planned for the hols, Alaska?" Timothy White asked as he hauled her trunk onto the train.

"I think I'm visiting my dad's parents in Greece for a bit. I'll let you know when, but for the love of Merlin, no owls, they'll probably drop down dead at the sight of them."

Tim laughed, "Of course, I'll keep that in mind. Did you – y'know, do the thing with Ben you were talking about?"

Alaska sighed and rolled her eyes, "Can we not talk about this now?"

* * *

"Honey! Results are here!" Mrs Thorne called up the stairs to her sixteen year-old daughter. She busied herself with rifling through the rest of the letters, which were mostly letters reminding her that she had to do her annual repeat of her security drills to maintain her job in the Department of Mysteries.

"Morning, mum! Is it here?"

"Yes, here you go dear. It arrived almost as soon as you'd hopped into the shower."

"Oh. Shame. Is Dad around?"

"He's not up just yet, sweetheart. Are you going to open them then?"

"Do you know when he's going to be up?"

"No, I don't. Come on, I want to know how you did!"

After hesitating, the red wax of the Hogwarts seal snapped, "Here goes."

_Ordinary Wizarding Level Results:_

_Pass Grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)._

_Fail Grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)._

_Alaska Thorne has achieved: _

_Ancient Runes: O_

_Arithmancy: O _

_Astronomy: O_

_Charms: O_

_Defence Against the Dark Arts: O_

_Herbology: O_

_History of Magic: O_

_Potions: E_

_Transfiguration: O_

"Congratulations darling!" Mrs Thorne said, squeezing her daughters shoulders in excitement. "Have you decided what classes you're going to take this autumn?"

"Yeah, I'll have to talk to Professor Slughorn about getting me into Alchemy classes though." Alaska said as she ripped up the envelope and put it into the bins.

"You mean you didn't sign up?"

"I was worried I wasn't going to get the grades I needed, Mum."

The cuckoo clock on the wall chirruped, signifying that Mrs Thorne had to leave or else she'd be late for work.

"Must dash, be sure to make yourself some breakfast. Not half a grapefruit! Try and have a good day today!"

"Alright Mum! I've got it, just go to work and try not to be late!" Alaska said as she gently pushed her mother towards the door.

She moved towards the fridge and pulled out the rest of her melon and began to make herself a fruit salad. Once she had finished, she covered the top with cling film and slung the bowl into the fridge, pulling out the carton of soy milk with her other hand and catching it with her left hand as it headed back down to the floor. She almost danced around the kitchen as she made herself a bowl of cereal and returned the ingredients back to their homes.

Alaska paced around the lounge and spent more time trying to get her cereal onto her spoon than she did actually consuming it. She finished with her cereal and was returning the empty bowl to the side when she heard the sound of tapping on glass coming from the lounge.

She frowned and returned, curiously glancing around the corner of the doorway as she approached. She recognised the Hogwarts owl immediately and dropped the baseball bat with a muffled thump. She crossed the room and opened the door and the owl flew right in to the lounge. It dropped the letter and flew right out again, disappearing into the hundred metres of Alaska's back garden.

After shutting the back door, Alaska moved over to the letter. She could tell by the lump in the front that it was _definitely_ good news. Most definitely.

* * *

Alaska spent most of her days in the summer holidays working out. Most of the time she would do a handful of sit-ups on her bedroom floor and call it quits, but her dad had been so invested in his daughter's talent for Quidditch that he secretly got her a gym membership the previous summer, so she had spent a little more time at the fancy new gym on the corner during her summer. Most of the time she went out on runs, just to get out of the house for a little while, but today was going to have a little shake up. She and the rest of the team, including Joseph, who had just graduated, were going to meet at Godric's Hollow, where one of their Chasers, Ben Davis lived.

Timothy White, one of the other chasers, was supposed to be arriving at Alaska's house at half nine to pick her up so they could be there for ten. They whole team was incredibly close, that was a given. However, Alaska had saved Tim's life numerous times and they bonded so quickly it was as if they had been parted at birth.

"Morning, Alaska. Any post for me?" Alaska heard her father call from the top of the stairs.

"Muggle post hasn't arrived yet, Dad! It's usually here at half ten!"

Mr Thorne appeared in the doorway, his grey t-shirt was half splattered with white paint that still hadn't washed out and his navy jogging bottoms had been slung on backwards. He rubbed his hair, which stuck up at all kinds of obtuse angles and padded towards the fridge.

"Heard anything from school?"

"Yep," She pushed the piece of parchment that had her future school career options laid out on towards her father.

"These are all good, yeah?"

"I passed every single one. I got another letter saying that they've demanded a remark on my Potions."

"But you passed, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"What about those after-school things. Are you still thinking about doing those?"

"I'm going to see if I've got the time. I enjoyed them last year; I don't see why I can't do at least one this year."

"Are you going to stick with art?"

"Obviously!"

"That's my girl! Do you want to see what I spent last night on?"

"I guess so." Alaska said, ignoring the other Hogwarts letter on the table. "Have you seen Lulu around?"

"No, not since she went out last night. Follow me, you're gonna love this one!"

* * *

"Isn't it wonderful?"

Alaska's eyebrows knitted. "Yeah – Inspired by what, cubism?"

"Not quite. Keep going."

"Post-impressionism?"

"Correct!"

"Well, it certainly is," Alaska tilted her head around, "Interesting. I think I hear Lulu. Be right back."

Alaska returned into the kitchen to find her cat, Lulu meowing at her lack of food in her bowl.

"Hey there, Lulu. Let me get you some breakfast!" Alaska was opening the cupboard when the doorbell rang. She glanced over at the time and swore. "Dad, can you get that?"

"Sure," he waltzed past, ever so casual in his pyjamas as he opened the front door. "Good morning, Tim! How are you on this fine day?"

"Great thanks, Mr Thorne. Is Alaska around?"

"Just sorting out Lulu! Come in!" Alaska called as she battled with her Siamese cat for the right to pour the cat food out into the designated bowl.

"Good morning! How are you?" Tim said as he dumped his Quidditch bag on the side. He was a tall boy, although he wasn't the tallest boy on the team. He was built well from all his years playing Quidditch at Hogwarts and then lacrosse and rugby in the summer holidays. He was a pretty boy, and regarded quite highly by the female population at Hogwarts for being so attractive, but he was never interested.

"Alright. Think I've been overstretching a little bit. You alright?"

"Yeah," Tim replied as Alaska pulled her fruit salad out of the fridge and poured it into a Tupperware box.

"Still pining over Nicolas?" She said, smiling as she pressed the lid onto the box.

"Shut it, cheeky! Have you spoken to Ben since you guys – y'know?"

"You mean since I dumped him?"

"Yeah. That."

"Nah, not really. You get your end-of-sixth results this morning?"

"Yeah. My mother screamed at me to get me up, I almost pissed myself. I need to get a lock or something."

"You have magic, moron."

"Yeah, that I do," He said wistfully. "So, you ready to go?"

"Gotta change first," She gestured to the clothes she had slung on after her shower and had been too lazy to change out of.

"Me too. I'll hop into the lounge."

There was a sharp meow as Lulu made the only sound she ever did when somebody accidentally squished the end of her tail.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there Grumps!"

"Stop calling her that!"

"You've got to acknowledge that she does look grumpy!"

"She does not look grumpy! Go and get changed, you arse!"

Tim laughed as he snatched his Quidditch bag off the side.

* * *

Alaska and Tim arrived at Godric's Hollow forty-five minutes later and both retrieved their brooms and kit out from the backseat of Tim's expensive car.

"Do I have to do this?" Alaska said, hesitating.

"Easier to get it over with, isn't it?"

"It's _easier_ for you to say that. That doesn't mean it's easier for me to deal with. Why am I even needed here? We can hardly play properly; we don't even have Bludgers or a Snitch!"

"It's a whole team thing. You know: unity? Tried it lately?"

Alaska responded by poking Tim with her broomstick. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

Alaska used the time she spent in the air to survey the rest of the boys and she tried to find a weak link. Besides Joe's leaving, there wasn't any fault with how the team played. She'd need backup if there was a team-related disaster.

"Get down here, Goldie!" Joe called, after Alaska had spent five minutes hovering when the boys had stopped playing. She zipped down and landed right next to Joseph. They collapsed in a little heap of limbs and spent an hour and half talking about what they had done on their holidays, what classes they were taking and the conversation rounded off with the inevitable 'Who's team captain?'

Joe rotated around the boys, asking each of them in turn until he finally reached Alaska.

"Well, congratulations my little protégé! What did I say; you were going to be a star!"

Alaska laughed and punched him on the arm, "Shut up! I'm not really interested in telling anyone at the moment."

"Oh, is this a devious tactic forming already?" Joe joked.

"Yeah, totally!" Alaska rolled her eyes, "I just think it'd be more fun to keep the team a little more mysterious until the first match. Then the other teams won't know who they're up against."

"I like it. Thinking just like I would!"

Alaska really rolled her eyes this time, catching the eyes of Tyler from across the circle and he laughed.

"What's the time, anyway?" Joe asked after a while.

"Half three. Got somewhere you need to be?"

"Yeah. Job interview at half four. See you all around, yeah?"

Joe's leaving was greeted with a semi-coherent chorus of goodbyes and he jogged off the square as another person came into view.

"Who's that?" Alaska asked. Dry, dead grass stuck to the small of her sweaty back as she propped herself up with her elbows.

"Looks like Potter. He's ridiculous. He always does this. I can't train in my back garden in peace. He's always like two hundred metres behind me when I go out running. It's getting really stupid," Ben replied.

"Thought of a restraining order?" Alaska replied, only somewhat jokingly as she put her head back down onto Nicolas' stomach.

"With his parents? Merlin, no!"

"Tried talking to Lily?"

"She never leaves her bedroom any more. Not according to Albus, anyway. Albus thinks it's stupid, but he's not doing anything to stop him."

"Tried going out at a different time?"

"Not yet. I don't want to admit that he's got the better of me."

"But – you just did?"

Ben glared daggers at Alaska and she smiled, shrugged and continued sharing her warm fruit salad.

"I hate to ask this, Alaska, but what are the chances that we're all still going to be on the team this autumn?" Tyler asked.

"Are you kidding me? I'd sell my soul to Slughorn before I replaced a single one of you! Anyways," Alaska said, shooting a furtive glance towards the outline of a certain James Potter, "Tim and I have to go. See you all at Diagon Alley next week?"

The boys chorused their goodbyes and Tim and Alaska returned to the car.

"Do you think he's trying to make the team?" She asked as they slung their Quidditch things in the back seat.

"Who?"

"Potter."

"I think he'd be over the moon just to get on the bench these days, especially since he doesn't have a glimmering academic status."

"No, he doesn't. Ugh, I need to get this off," Alaska muttered as she pulled at her Quidditch robe.

"Then take it off and stop complaining. Shove mine in the back while you're at it," Tim said as he yanked his robes over his head and tossed them at Alaska.

"Put them back there yourself, lazy," she replied, smacking the bundle of robes back to him.


	2. set

ii

_flashback: Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts Express & the Sorting._

James strutted through Diagon Alley as though he owned all the stores. His mother walked ahead of him, heading first to get his new uniform for Hogwarts. His father would be there later on because his mother had to pick up Lily and Albus from the Burrow after they stayed over the previous night and, no doubt, wean the teasing hands of their older cousins off of them.

He sidled through the doorway as it closed behind his mother and followed her up to the till.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" The lady behind the till asked in a no-nonsense, 'it's been a long day and it's not even lunchtime' voice.

"First year uniform for my son, please," Ginny Potter replied, equally as exhausted as the tradeswoman.

"Right this way," James did as he was told and a tape measure appeared, took measurements of just about every part of his body as somebody came in after them.

"Right this way," the lady said again as James' mother thrust some clothes at him and directed him to the changing room identified with a little stick man on. He did as he was told as the tape measure swished in front of another Hogwartian.

"Does this fit alright, Mum?" James asked as he walked out of the changing room. He watched a small girl with olive skin giggle as the tape measure took the lengths of her arms into account.

"Alaska, take these," James heard the woman standing over the young girl say as his mother tugged at his collar in an effort to get it to lie flat. Alaska disappeared into the changing room and came back out in thirty seconds flat, by James' standards. Her mother gave her the once over and the tape measure came back for another quick check that her skirt was long enough and flew back to the till.

"We'll take those. Go and get changed, dear. I promise we'll check out pets later, once we've done your books." The woman said.

"Aren't you that Unspeakable lady?" The shop attendant asked as Alaska disappeared for a second time.

She turned a kind smile to the attendant, "Yes, it's nice to meet you."

"Is it true you can't talk about your work?"

"Very true, unfortunately." She smiled again and folded her arms over her blouse-clad chest. A blazer hung off her finger and a pocket long enough for a wand sat on the edge of her waist. James watched as she turned her head around, her tight chignon of blonde hair looked migraine-inducing, if that was at all possible.

Her honey-haired daughter bounced out of the changing rooms a second later and leapt towards the till as James' own mother instructed him to tear his eyes away from the nice lady and go and get changed so they could buy his school clothes.

The bell pealed out whilst James was still changing and he lurched as the knowledge that he might never see Alaska again burrowed into his brain.

* * *

"Sweetheart, do try and keep up," Her mother said as she enchanted the bags of books and clothes to hover over their heads. "We're going to get you your pet now, darling. Can you put a smile on for me?"

Alaska smiled, albeit forcefully and tried to act as though she was having a good time. Her mind was more plagued by how she was going to make friends, or what house she'd burden with her idiocy, or whether they'd serve soy milk at breakfast because she was so lactose intolerant it actually pained her to even _think_ about dairy some days.

They walked into the noisy store with their bags dropping down to hover behind them, Alaska and her mother split into separate sides of the store. Her mother vanished into the corner full of owls, whereas Alaska ducked into the shrouded world of the cattery.

"Alaska, honey, what do you think of this pet?" her mother called out.

Alaska walked away from the kitten she found so adorable and frowned at the owl that her mother was cooing over. "I don't know, I don't really want an owl, Mum."

"Whyever not, darling?"

"I can't cuddle an owl when I'm homesick, can I?"

"So you want a cat? Toads are a little hard to hug."

Alaska and her mother laughed.

"Do you have a specific one in mind then, dear?"

Alaska walked over to the cat portion of the pet shop and pointed at the one she wanted.

"Alright, if you promise you'll take good care of it, sweetie."

"I promise, Mum." Alaska said, watching the Siamese cat prowl around its cage. An unbreakable smile was cast across her face for the rest of the day as she did all she could to settle the latte-coloured feline into her new home. "Are we going to Ollivanders now?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Come along, you carry your cage. Have you got a name for her?"

* * *

"Try this, Mr Potter, eleven inches of cherry with a core of unicorn tail," Ollivander's young apprentice said as he unpackaged the wand.

James waved it in front of himself, just like he had done with the other twenty-three, but this one only resulted in the ladder falling apart at the seams.

"Apparently not." He crouched down as the bell rang and another customer walked in. "This might be just the ticket," He said, "Ten and a quarter inches of willow with a core of unicorn tail."

James swished the wand impatiently, but much to his surprise, nothing exploded.

"Excellent, Mister Potter! Let me just package that up for you and then you may be on your way."

"Alfred? Alfred? Is that you? Are we open today?" An aged and disorientated Mr Ollivander called down the corridor from the stairwell.

"Yes, Mr Ollivander. There's quite a queue, can I get back to work?"

"Nonsense, Alfred, I'll help out. Can you go and fix me up a cup of tea?"

Alfred audibly sighed but nodded, "This one is for Mr Potter, it's seven Galleons."

"Fantastic. Have you been served, young lady?"

"Not yet," a voice said from behind James.

"What's the name?"

"Thorne."

"Oh, is that you Aubrey? I do think I remember your wand, hawthorn and dragon heartstring?"

"That's the one. It's served me well. I wanted to get my daughter sorted out."

"If she's anything like you, I'm sure we'll have a match for her in a minute. What's your name?"

"Alaska. Alaska Thorne."

James swivelled around and, for the second time that day, came eye-to-eye with Alaska. She smiled amicably at him and stepped forwards as Ollivander unboxed a wand.

"Try this, Miss Thorne. Dragon heartstring and rowan."

Alaska waved it hesitantly. It unboxed a full rack of wands, which was quickly fixed with a silent swish of her mother's wand.

"Where are you working now then, Aubrey?" Ollivander asked as he ascended the repaired ladder on light toes.

"Department of Mysteries."

"Oh, an Unspeakable? What a delight, I hope you're having a good time over there."

"They certainly have been treating me well. What's this one?"

"Nine and a half inches of vine with a core of phoenix feather. I shouldn't think it'll be too lethal just yet."

Alaska's green eyes widened to the side of Galleons as she took the wand in a trembling hand. She waved it gently, as though taming a wild beast, and a warm spell seemed to rush through the shop.

"Isn't that marvellous?" Ollivander said, clapping his hands together in delight, "That's seven Galleons, thank you Aubrey. It was lovely to catch up, I hope you're going to be back soon."

"I might be, but I can't talk about it just yet. Have a good day, Mr Ollivander."

The door shut behind them as James fiddled with his new wand. He knew her name. She'd be going to Hogwarts, he knew it. He just had to look out for her at the Sorting, or even find her on the train later, and he'd get to know her just fine.

* * *

Alaska sat down on the train in a compartment her mother had found for her half an hour ago. She had insisted that she help, since Mr Thorne had been rushed off to Morocco on family business.

"Hi, are you waiting for anyone?" A slightly gangly, olive-skinned boy asked from the doorway.

Alaska glanced over at the boy and shook her head, "Nope. You can join me if you want."

"Cool, thanks. I'm Fred, by the way. Fred Weasley. What's your name?"

"Alaska," she said, reaching forward to shake his outstretched hand.

"That's a cool name."

"Thanks," Alaska said, blushing into her brown hair.

"So, what house do you think you're going to be in?" Fred asked after a while.

"I don't know, Mum was in Ravenclaw and Dad's a Muggle, so it could be any house really. What about you?"

"Gryffindor. Both my parents and like, my whole family, were in Gryffindor."

"That's cool," she said, wanting to turn back to her textbook.

"I'd hate to be in Slytherin, though. I'd prefer to be in Hufflepuff."

Alaska frowned as the door pulled open, "What's the difference between Hufflepuff and Slytherin? As far as I can tell, if you needed to study for a test and you'd left it to the last minute, a Hufflepuff would just stay up studying with you all night but a Slytherin would get you a copy of the answers."

* * *

Alaska sighed and tucked her nose back into her textbook and tried to ignore James and his friends, Fred and Louis.

Louis was a second year who had two older sisters and Fred was a first year, just like Alaska and he had a younger sister.

"What did you say your last name was?" Louis asked, several hours into the train journey.

"I didn't," Alaska said pointedly, not looking up from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"What is your last name?"

"Thorne."

"No way! Aren't you the daughter of that famous Unspeakable?" Fred blurted out.

"That's me," Alaska sighed and flicked onto the next page, not even looking up, "Nice to meet you too."

"Cool." James said after a while.

* * *

James had never felt more nervous than ever before in his life when his name was called up by Professor McGonagall. He approached the stall and the Sorting Hat dropped onto his head and began to whisper inside his head.

_Not a bad mind, but a lack of motivation to work on it, _the voice said._ Ambitious, yes, but unprepared to work for it. Phobia of hard work? Maybe. For you, Mr Potter, it better be, _"GRYFFINDOR!"

James' cousins nearly screamed the enchanted ceiling off as he made his way over to the Gryffindor table. His ears were full of congratulatory buzzes, until all his cousins had finished their well-wishing. Even Teddy, who was sat over on the Hufflepuff table scuttled across to say well done.

By the time they were all finished, James was watching the slightly timid and bookish Alaska get sorted into her own house. There was something odd about her, as though she was familiar with this routine already and already knew her surroundings.

* * *

Alaska was, admittedly, freaking out. As soon as she had heard her name called, the whispers started, much like they had for James, the boy she found a little bit larger-than-life in her train compartment and she had no doubt that they would start up for Fred, too. Nevertheless, she stepped forward and up to the Sorting hat and perched on the edge of the stool.

_Oh my,_ a voice said in her head. _Locked talent like no other. But bravery too, yet not to the point of foolishness. You're not afraid of a little toil to get your ways, are you? I can tell. You've got a plan for everything, and a back-up for your back-up! So well prepared, so well-studied too and you haven't even had a day here! Looks like Ravenclaw for you, but I can sense something's wrong. Ravenclaw won't help you in your path to greatness. You think it's a house full of rowdy do-gooders who would resort to murder to get what they want? Oh, then there's only one house for you. At least there, they'd stab you in the back. You're only going up, Miss Thorne. _

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat bellowed and the Slytherin table erupted into cheers. James inwardly winced, but noticed her half-smirk as she almost glided down to the table swathed in green and silver and wondered if she would have ever fit in to any other house.

* * *

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed, I just wanted to do a quick glimpse into their past but I felt a prologue wouldn't quite fit with how I wanted this story to start. Thanks for reading!


	3. go

iii

After countless owls to Professor Slughorn, Alaska had finally signed on to take a NEWT in Alchemy, along with Transfiguration, Potions, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic.

"Alaska!" Her mother called as she returned from work, "I've got you a present!"

"A present?" Alaska called back, her head popping into the hallway.

"Oh – there you are. Yes, a present." Her mother carried a large package into the kitchen and dumped it onto the island in the middle.

"What – lovely wrapping that is," Alaska muttered as the oven beeped. She swivelled around and pulled out a tray of half-cooked muffins. "Oh, come on!" She muttered as she returned the hot tray to the oven and put the timer on for another ten minutes. "What is it?"

"Open it!"

Alaska folded the oven gloves and put them down on the side. She pulled at the brown paper wrapping and revealed her gift of all her school textbooks.

"Wow – thanks Mum."

"I just thought I'd save you from having to carry them about when you go out to get the rest of your school things with your friends. Do you not like it?"

"No, I love it. I'm just a bit tired today."

"It's okay, sweetie. If you want, I can sort out your baking?"

"I think I'll manage," Alaska said, smiling weakly. "Go and sit down."

* * *

"Oh my god – look at this, Tim!" Alaska called from one side of Quality Quidditch Supplies as she waved the least protective shin pad she could find at him. "I'm beginning to doubt the integrity of the 'Quality' in this store name," she finished off with a murmur.

Isaac, who was searching the racks next to Alaska, laughed. "I think we all doubt its reliability sometimes. What do you think of this?" He pulled out a different pair of shin pads from the highest shelf in the shop.

"I thought you bought shin pads at the end of last year?"

"Yeah," Isaac glanced down at his shoes.

"You need gloves, if I'm not mistaken. And get two pairs, I'm not having the same disaster we had in that match against Ravenclaw. You practically tore them open."

"Literally," Tyler said as he approached the pair.

"What?"

"The word you're looking for is literally."

"Whatever. Don't even think that you're going to get away with not getting new gloves either. Go and check them out, before I shove a pair up your arse."

"Feeling violent today?" Tyler asked.

Alaska raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the door, "Cue one slightly pathetic bundle of Hufflepuffs." Her jaw almost dropped, "Look at that! That – that _ponce_ managed to get Captain! I wonder who he murdered for that."

"You can't call Trevor Jackson a ponce, Alaska. Not since you're going to have to work with him on schedules," Tyler said as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Fuck. I forgot about that," Alaska hissed.

"Exactly. Come and help me sort out my gloves, would you?"

"Only if you promise to sort out my shin-pad related catastrophe."

"Deal."

* * *

"How are your friends?" Mr Thorne asked as he tried finding his fancy tie in the stack of dry clothes that snaked out of the tumble-dryer.

"They're okay. All seems well, but – actually, never mind."

"What's up? Something wrong with your team?"

"I'm just a bit worried about replacing Joe. We didn't even have try-outs last year."

"Ah," Mr Thorne said as he tied his dark purple tie around his neck and folded his collar down. "How do I look?"

Alaska surveyed her father's outfit, "Like a teacher. Come here," She undid her father's top button, loosened the tie and thrust a tweed jacket at him. "There you go. Works fine, see?"

"How does this make me look like any less of a teacher?"

"You know what? I have no idea, but you look better. It's probably because you were trying to wear something that's completely caked in paint."

Alaska gestured to her father's other jacket.

"Ah, I suppose that would help," he replied sheepishly. "Don't forget that you're heading to school tomorrow, and if you don't pack that new school skirt your mother bought you, then I totally understand and I'll keep it in the studio until Christmas."

"You could probably use it for a canvas if you wanted."

* * *

"Morning, Dad," Alaska said, as she strolled through the lounge with a white porcelain mug filled with very milky coffee clasped between her hands. "How was the show last night?"

"Good. I sold a couple of pieces and got a commission."

"That'll keep you out of trouble for a while," Alaska said, smiling as she rummaged through the morning's mail.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Mum won't be able to see you off today, since she's stuck at work due to a breach."

Alaska sighed. "At least I won't have her complaining about how much easier my trips to and from school would be without a broomstick."

"Are your things ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, did it a couple of nights ago," Alaska muttered dismissively, "Can you owl off this thank you letter to Gran?" She said as she retrieved it from her back pocket.

"My mother?"

"No, Mum's mother. It's to thank her for the broom."

Alaska was referring to the prototype broom her Grandma had procured and somehow managed to get delivered for five in the morning that day.

"Sure, I'll see that she gets it." Mr Thorne said as he took it and added it to the little stack of letters Alaska had asked him to mail in the past week.

"Thanks! When are we leaving?"

"Can you be ready in ten minutes?"

Alaska laughed, "Dad, I can be ready in five."

* * *

Muggle schools hadn't started returning for the new school year yet, but a handful of their neighbours knew that Alaska went to a fancy boarding school for most of the year and knew they had odd term times.

Her father pulled up at the drop-off only bay and jumped out of the car to retrieve a trolley for her school things. Alaska got out and loaded her trunk, Lulu's basket and her new broom onto the cart.

"Have a good year, sweetheart. See you at Christmas?"

"Probably," Alaska said, smiling. "I'll send you an owl if I'm not."

"Okay. Good luck. Study hard, darling," Her father replied as he climbed back into the car and drove off. Alaska was quick to move away and shed the shell her parents loved so much. She walked to Platform 10 with constructed grace and any students she knew from Hogwarts moved out of the way. Her Quidditch Captain badge was safely secured in the lining of her trunk that she calmly pushed through to Platform 9 and ¾.

She was greeted as soon as she passed through by a handful of people she didn't really know well enough to have an opinion on, "Alaska! Great to see you!"

She smiled a smile that at first looked amicable, but everyone knew it could loosely be translated as Alaska's 'get out of my way, bitches' smile. She strolled over to the boys of her Quidditch team that usually arrived early with a smooth, runway swagger to her walk.

"Morning. How are you?"

"Peachy," Tim replied. "Want me to take that to the compartment?"

"If you wouldn't mind," she said, smiling.

"Still got tough girl going on, huh?"

"I'd smack you if I wasn't so attached to you," she laughed quietly as she picked up the cat basket and broom. She followed Tim to the compartment that the team always claimed as their own. He had already claimed a seat and Alaska to put her cat basket down on her chosen seat.

"Got a new broom, huh?" He asked as he put it up on one of the overhead shelves.

"Yeah. It's so pretty. My gran got it for me."

"Pretty as in – how?"

"Grey Ironbark. Gran says it goes brutally fast. I wanna try it out. It's charmed to be super light, which is great."

"Your gran is mental, I swear," Tim said disbelievingly.

"While my gran is, admittedly a little bit crazy, I'd like to contest that she is also a genius, thank you very much."

"Come on, I think Isaac said he'd be arriving soon."

The pair left their compartment and found Isaac struggling with his parents. They approached him and both put a hand on his shoulder and addressed his parents in turn.

"Good morning, Mr Gray!" Tim said.

"And hello Mrs Gray, how are you today? Have you had a haircut? It looks superb!"

"Thank you very much, Alaska. I'm still not used to it, but –"

"I think it looks great. How have you been?"

"Oh, you know: ups and downs. Things haven't been great at home, but we're hoping Isaac will manage to find some stability at school. How's your mother?"

"She's alright; she's been very busy with a new project lately. She's very grateful for her year after Hogwarts when she went to Beauxbatons to study Astronomy." Alaska digressed from talking about the subject of astronomy to the planetary alignment and how it was affecting crops in the Muggle world so Isaac could unload his trolley without his parents intervening. "Oh, would you look at the time! I've got to go and sort my cat out. See you around, Mrs Gray. It was a pleasure talking to you!"

Mr and Mrs Gray smiled and left Alaska to return to the train, "She's a funny girl, isn't she, Laura?"

"You could say that."

* * *

"You guys need to get better at evading your parents," Alaska said as they ushered Nicolas away from his parents.

"Not our fault we've all got parents who are overly attached to us," Ben hissed as they walked past James Potter and his cousin, Fred.

"I swear, those guys are always together," James said, enviously watching the Slytherin team's unity as they huddled around one of their Beaters.

"Yeah, they are. It's kinda weird, actually," Fred said as he brushed his dark hair out of his eyes.

"Do you know who the Quidditch captains are this year?"

"I'll tell you later," he muttered. "Have you got a compartment?"

"Yeah, Louis got one when he arrived earlier and I just put my stuff in there."

"Sweet. I have to talk to you and Louis then."

"You know Louis got Head Boy?"

Fred's eyebrows shot up, "Merlin, I know. He's ridiculous, I swear. He's such a lying goody-two shoes."

"Probably that Veela charm, mate. We all know every single teacher believes him when he says he had no involvement."

"Do you think – maybe – that he's got a list of all the Quidditch captains?"

Fred sighed and resisted behaving bitterly, "What's your obsession with the Quidditch captains? Maybe, go and ask him or something."

James frowned at his cousin's snappiness. "Sure, whatever. I'll be on the train. I'll see you later."

* * *

"What do you think should be on the poster?" Isaac asked as he pulled a piece of parchment out of his bag.

"I don't know, just keep it simple. Just make sure you point out that we are in specific need of a Seeker and that they have three days to put their name in the container and then that's it," Alaska replied as she tossed a pencil at Isaac, "Do you guys know who the other Captains are?"

"Trevor's taking Hufflepuff, you've got Slytherin, I heard Meg got Ravenclaw and I don't think there was anybody but Ethan for the job over at Gryffindor."

"Makes sense," she shrugged. "Are we there yet?"

"We left the station like three hours ago!" Nicolas replied, looking up from his Transfiguration textbook.

"Ugh, this journey goes so slowly," Alaska sighed as she rolled onto her back and put her head onto Tyler's lap.

"Your cat's usually running amok by now," Isaac said nonchalantly as he flicked through a copy of The Quibbler the Scamander twins had procured for him.

"She's sleeping at the moment. She was out all of last night for some reason."

"Cats usually go out at night, Alaska." Tyler said. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You know full well what that was for," She replied, closing her eyes. "Do we have anybody we adamantly don't want on the team?"

* * *

"Congratulations on making Captain, Ethan! Do you know when you're holding try-outs?"

"No, James, not yet. It'll probably be in early October, to let everyone settle down, y'know?"

James tapped his feet impatiently, "Yeah. Who do you need to replace?"

"I need pretty much a new team, I'm replacing everyone except myself and Cox, and that means I need two chasers, a beater, a seeker and a keeper."

"Heard about the other teams?" James asked, fidgeting excitedly.

"Not yet, no. Do you?"

"Well, I'd say that Ramirez is going to be Captain for Slytherin. I haven't seen him around yet, but I think he's Slytherin. I've seen Boreham around with her Captain badge for Ravenclaw and Jackson made Hufflepuff Captain, I saw him with the team at Diagon Alley over the summer."

"Well, I wonder what the Slytherins are going to do this year. We almost crushed them last year. They only lost by ten points, I can't believe how close it was. Joe really pulled the Snitch out of his arse. Figuratively, of course."

James nodded. "I should go and check on Albus. See you at school."

* * *

The crowd parted for Alaska and the Slytherin team as they disembarked the train and caught the first carriage up to Hogwarts.

"I think I'm finally adapting to you being the biggest bitch around here, Alaska," Nico said, laughing.

"Finally? Took you long enough," She replied, laughing back at him. She brushed her golden hair out of her face and hummed tunelessly as they made the journey in silence.

* * *

"Alaska," Una Rosier called from the other side of the table, "Since I made Head Girl, it's my job to tell you the new password. I went with a country thing this year, so it's Chile for the next two weeks."

"Could've just used Alaska. I don't mind," she said brazenly as she pretended to pick at her cuticles.

"_Of course you wouldn't_. Just let the word slip that that's the password, would you?"

Alaska turned to Nicolas and amongst the hubbub she exclaimed, "Hey, did you know that the new password the the Slytherin common room was Chile?"

Nico overacted his shock and gasped loudly, "No! Wow! I must share this!"

"Done." Alaska beamed at Una. "Anything else?"

"Since you're all gathered here, then I should let you know that you need your teams to be assembled by October 15th. Any idea when you're holding trials?"

Nico turned back as Alaska leant forward and whispered, "Una, we plan to have the team together before the week's even up."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! If you could drop a review, that'd be great. See y'all next Friday for chapter four!


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